Past Lives aka Secrets
by Howlin' Mara
Summary: A woman with connections to Hannibal's past needs the team's help clearing her name before the mysterious agency she works for finds her. R&R. Secrets has been renamed Past Lives...thanks Ro!
1. Dont Ask, Dont Tell

Howdy all!

This is one of the first Team fics I ever wrote (very fixed up, lol). It's been posted at my web site (On the Jazz - the link is in my profile) and I've been told to post it here coughSpeecough. Spee helped me out with the summary cause I'm just no good at those...and the title sucks, but I plan on fixing it...eventually, lol. Anyway, constructive criticism is always welcome - but if you can't be nice, I won't listen to you. I've been flamed, and the points made in the flame were valid, but I ignored them because they were...well, they were flames, lol. The moral of the story is: Be nice. I'll actually listen then. lol. Anyway, Read & Review!

* * *

Nicole Kendall took a deep breath and squared her shoulders as she approached the Veterans Administration hospital. If she felt any nervousness over what she was about to do, no sign of it showed on her face. She was a professional, and this had to work or her mother had died for nothing. 

Approaching the front desk, she pasted on a smile and rung the bell.

A portly, angry looking nurse came out from a nearby door. The woman had short, light red hair, and the expression she wore suggested she had been doing nothing but sucking lemons for the last twenty years. "Yes?"

"My name," she began, producing an ID wallet from her pocket and flashing it at the woman, "is Allison Johnson, C.I.A." After allowing the woman sufficient time to inspect the ID, she returned it to her pocket. "I am here for Captain H.M. Murdock."

"Excuse me?" the woman huffed. "I have no record of anyone coming for Captain Murdock."

Nicole smiled patiently and folded her hands on the front desk. "You haven't even checked," she pointed out.

Baird, that's what the Nurse's nametag said, smirked impatiently and replied, "I don't have to check, I am the head nurse and I all paperwork has to go through me as soon as it's brought in. There is nothing for Captain Murdock."

The smile on Nicole's face faded quickly and her pale blue eyes became ice cold - she didn't have time to fool around. She produced a set of papers from her coat pocket and handed them to the nurse. "I understand that you've had problems in the past with men breaking Captain Murdock out, but I don't have the time or the patience to humour you right now." She pointed to the papers the nurse was now inspecting carefully. "Those papers have all the official seals, signatures and whatever else you may think you need on them," she explained. "They also have the contact information for the director of our local office at the bottom. If you feel you need to, you may call him and confirm, but as I said, I _don't_ have a lot of time here."

It was clear that Baird wasn't too happy by the seeming legitimacy of the papers. She sneered at the pseudo CIA agent before going to the phone and dialing the number at the bottom. Judging by the smug look on her face, she thought she had caught the woman in her lie. But a quick phone call later, the obviously annoyed nurse told Nicole to wait while she had Captain Murdock brought out. She turned around and stalked off down the hall, leaving the impression she didn't like being wrong.

About ten minutes had passed before the sounds of Captain Murdock could be heard coming down the hall. Nicole grinned to herself as she heard Murdock annoying Nurse Baird with loud proclamations of his love for random items such as ketchup and beach towels in loud, off-key songs.

"What the CIA wants with you, I'll never know," Baird muttered to Murdock who continued to ignore her.

Murdock bounced to a stop in front of Nicole and gave her the once over while she thanked Nurse Baird with a dismissive tone.

Nicole smiled and turned to face Murdock. "Well, Captain," she said gesturing toward the entrance. "After you."

He regarded her curiously for a moment, then started toward the doors. As soon as they reached her car, a black 1964 mustang convertible, he hopped in and casually asked, "so, who are you, really?"

"Didn't think you'd buy the CIA thing," she muttered good-naturedly as she started the car. "Nicole Kendall. I would tell you who I _do_ work for, but technically we don't exist, so . . ."

"Don't ask, don't tell," Murdock supplied knowingly.

Nicole nodded and said, "bingo."

There was no point in asking 'why me' or faking some sort of psychosis, so he figured they might as well get right down to business. "Where're we headed?" he asked.

"You tell me," she replied. With the push of a button, the hood of the car went up and over their heads. "I need you to call Colonel Smith and the others. Now, the reason where we're going depends on you is I don't know if you trust my cell phone or if you'd prefer a pay phone."

After regarding her carefully for a moment, Murdock let loose a howl of laughter. "Listen, sweetheart, I don't know what you think . . ."

The car screeched to a halt. "No," she cut him off angrily, "you, listen, sweetheart - I need help and I don't have time for games. If I intended to turn your friends in, I wouldn't have gone through you to find them."

There was the briefest of pauses as he sized her up. It was blatantly obvious that she wasn't telling him everything, but there was a certain almost familiar intensity in her ice blue eyes. "Take the next left," he said soberly.

It took a moment for his words to sink in, but she still didn't fully understand them. "What?"

"The next left," he repeated. "There's a phone booth a few blocks down on the right-hand side."

Nicole nodded and started up the car again, following Murdock's directions. Sure enough there was a pay phone right where he had said it would be. She waited in the car while he hopped out to make the call.

In all honesty, she was still a little irritated. With everything that had happened, she was on edge and her nerves were frayed beyond recognition. She knew that she had probably been a bit hard on Murdock, but she was aggravated and didn't really care. With a sigh she slouched back in her seat and waited for him to finish the phone call.

* * *

"You've reached an automated system," began the voice on the other end of the line. 

Murdock took a second to figure out who he was talking to before he responded. "Knock it off, Face, it's me. I need to speak to the Colonel."

"Murdock? What are you doing -" Face blurted out.

"I'll explain later, but right now I really need to talk to Hannibal." While he waited for Face to get Hannibal, he turned back to look at the woman in the car - Nicole, if that was her real name. She was slouched down in her seat and looked exasperated. It seemed to him, though, that she was being fairly honest about two things: she needed their help and she wouldn't turn in the team. Not yet, anyway.

"What's up, Murdock?" Hannibal's voice jarred him from his thoughts.

Turning his back on the woman in the car, he got right down to it. "Hannibal, I got picked up at the VA by a girl claiming to be CIA, only when we got in the car and I called her on it, she admitted it was a cover. Name's Nicole Kendall; says she needs our help."

"Kendall?" Hannibal repeated with a strange quality to his voice.

"Uh, yeah, that's what she _says_."

There was a pause in which he guessed Hannibal was considering the situation; he could almost picture him chewing on his cigar as he thought. "What do you think, Captain?" he asked eventually.

Murdock sighed. "I honestly don't know what to think, Colonel. I mean, she definitely hasn't told me everything." After taking a second to collect his thoughts, he continued, "I just don't get why she would go to all the trouble of breaking me out of the VA if she was after us."

"You think she's legit?"

Again he looked back at the woman in the car. "I'm not exactly sure, but if she's not, it's not like we've never made a quick escape before," he replied with a grin.

"Alright, Captain," Hannibal agreed. "Bring her down to the beach house, but keep your eyes peeled."

In the background Face's voice whined, "not my beach house!"

"_Your _beach house?" BA exclaimed.

"Half an hour, Captain," Hannibal chuckled as he hung up the phone.

Murdock put the receiver back on the hook, and went back to the car. "Half an hour at a house on the beach," he said as Nicole sat back upright and looked questioningly at him.

"You going to give me an address, or should I just pick a beach and guess which house?" she retorted with a sarcastic smirk.

A look of uncertainty crept across his features. "You, uh, you mind if I drive? It's just that it's probably easier than trying to give directions." He wasn't sure if she'd be okay with the idea, but the beach house was a bit complicated to get to and he honestly thought it would just be easier for him to drive.

She scrutinized him for a moment before getting out of her car. "Fine," she agreed. "But if you hurt my baby, I get to hurt you."

Murdock walked around the car and grinned at her as she stood beside the car staring him down. When she finally walked away from him and got in the passenger side, he got in and drove off. Apparently she wasn't too fond of the idea of someone else driving her car - _she'll get along great with Face_, he thought to himself as he started toward the beach.


	2. Her Eyes Are A Dead Giveaway

Little bit more revealed here...actually a lot more, lol. Just bear with me...this story came out of an idea that's going to happen _a lot_ later on. Only person who knows what's gonna happen is Jes, so if you don't like what I'm writing, blame her, lol, cause she's the one who told me to write this! Snrk. Anyway, read, review, don't flame. And same as last time, more of this is written at On the Jazz, see my profile for the link. And if anyone has suggestions for a better title, please email me or join OtJ and PM me...I'm really at a loss, lol.

Note: I won't update without reviews. So, if you like the fic so far, even just a review saying "I like it" will help. Anything to show me that someone is taking an interest in this. I've already written upto I think chapter 6 or 7, so the quicker you review, the quicker I update :p

* * *

Twenty-six minutes later Murdock pulled the car into the driveway of a large white beach house. Before he could even turn off the engine Nicole was demanding her keys back. 

"Can I turn off the engine first?" he asked with a chuckle and a grin that she found extremely irritating.

She didn't reply, only watched him impatiently until he gave her back the keys. When he handed them back she calmed down visibly, but was still obviously on edge. He couldn't help wondering what made her so anxious, though he had an idea.

Leading the way, he walked through the front door to find the other team members already waiting in the living room. Beside him Nicole cast glances at each of the others in turn and let out a nervous breath.

"You need our help, Ms. - ?" Hannibal prompted, snapping the girl out of her reverie.

"Kendall," she supplied with a wry grin. "Did you think I'd forget my last name, Colonel?"

"Can't be too careful," he replied with a grin.

"I suppose not, in your situation," she agreed hesitantly. "Look, here's the situation: my, um, my mother was…she was killed two days ago and..." She sighed and crossed her arms. "Look, I can't tell you who I work for - I'm assuming Murdock told you about the CIA cover," she cast a sidelong glance at him, "but I'll tell you what I can. We were working on trapping these gun runners; thought they were just small time - hell, we were even ready to make the arrest - until we caught him dealing with Vasil Shirral, an arms dealer for Aaron Tate. So, we decided to stick with them and see what else we could dig up." Needing a moment, she paused and rubbed at her eyes tiredly; it had been two days since she'd had a decent night's sleep.

Peck spoke up, "Aaron Tate the mobster?"

Nicole grinned wryly and asked, "you know of another Aaron Tate that would be involved in gun running and worth mentioning?" When he didn't respond to her question, she finished telling them what had happened. "Anyway, seems these scumbags didn't take too kindly to having their activities monitored. Our safe house and command center was attacked while another agent and I were on assignments - nobody made it." It was hard, but she managed to fight the tears that threatened to show. "Anyway, he hadn't reported back in, last I checked, and we're both under suspicion - somebody had to have told these slimeballs our location."

"And your mother fits into this how?" Smith asked.

Quietly she replied, "she was the team's medic. They found her in the makeshift hospital we had set up in the basement. Didn't have a chance."

Hannibal looked her over as he chewed on his cigar, and seemed to come to a conclusion. "Maybe we could take this out onto the patio?"

Nicole nodded hesitantly and followed him outside, her hands fiddling with something in her jacket pocket.

Face stared after them as they left. "What was that about?" he asked.

"I think they may have a few things to talk about; call it a hunch," Murdock said with a dismissive shrug.

* * *

"Is the name a coincidence?" Colonel Smith asked without preamble as soon as they were out of earshot of the others. He took a seat on one of the patio chairs and looked up at her questioningly. 

Nicole leaned on the railing and replied, "no." She pulled out the piece of paper she had been fiddling with and handed it to him, a little nervous about his reaction. As he read the words on the paper, she watched his face to gauge his reaction biting her bottom lip nervously. But his expression betrayed little as he read the letter, his only reaction to look up at her about half way through. Her mother had written the letter to him when Nicole had only been around twenty.

When he finished the letter he pulled out another cigar and lit it, but didn't say anything.

His silence did nothing to calm her nerves. "One way or another you're going to have to say something," Nicole muttered as she crossed her arms across her chest. That letter had told him what she herself had only learned recently - that he was her father - and now that he'd read it he wasn't saying anything; she wondered if that was a good sign or a bad sign.

After taking another puff of his cigar Hannibal asked calmly, "you've read it?"

"Yeah. I found that letter in her safe in the house," replied quietly. "Look, I understand if you don't want me around, but for now I need your help."

As Smith sat chewing on his cigar, seemingly lost in thought, Nicole watched him. He was probably having a hard time taking it all in - in the space of a few minutes someone he had known well was dead and he had a daughter. It was bound to be hard on him. She turned around to look quietly at the ocean so that he could have some time to think.

After a several long minutes had passed, he came and stood beside her. "What exactly is it that you want?"

She looked down and watched her fingers as they played nervously with the ring she wore. "From you? I don't know," she replied honestly. "I don't expect a quick fix and a normal, loving father." That had sounded a lot more bitter than she had intended. "From the team? I want help."

He chewed some more on his cigar then asked, "you mean revenge?"

"No," she replied, shaking her head adamantly. "I want you to help me finish my job. If it doesn't get finished, then mom died for nothing. I can pay you a pretty decent fee." The idea of paying her father for help didn't sit right with her, but she barely knew the man, and he and his team needed to make a living somehow.

"So, what, exactly, do you want us to do?" Smith prodded.

Nicole took a deep breath and leaned her elbows on the railing. "We would need to find out who else these guys are dealing with, so that I can give the names to my superiors, and we would need to shut them down."

"Superiors?" he echoed. "We don't work for people who could have us arrested, kid."

"You won't be arrested," she tried to assure him.

"How do we know this isn't some elaborate set up?" he pushed on angrily. "How do I know you won't turn us in? Not to mention, if you guys are so good, why do you need us?"

Logically she knew she should have explained that her superiors didn't trust her at the moment, and her job needed to be finished, but she couldn't suppress her anger and frustration any longer. "Maybe I don't need you, then," she spat. "Keep the damn letter, and thanks for the help, _dad_!" With that she stormed angrily through the house and out to her car, driving away and ignoring the confused stares of the rest of the team.

Smith pretty obviously didn't trust her, and, she supposed, with good reason. There was just no time to convince him otherwise. She didn't know how, but she would do this on her own somehow. First she needed to get another bug planted, though.

* * *

Murdock watched Nicole go, and, after taking a moment to think about it, went out onto the porch to talk to Hannibal. 

"She's an interesting lady," he muttered as he came up beside the Colonel to watch the ocean.

"Yeah," Hannibal agreed gruffly.

"Reminds me a bit of someone," Murdock remarked casually, his hands in his pockets and he watched.

Smith watched him wearily out the corner of his eye. "Oh really?"

He sighed and took his hands out of his pockets, placing them on the railing. "Come on, Colonel. Her eyes are a dead give away!"

Hannibal put out his cigar and glared at his captain. "Stay out of this, Murdock," he warned dangerously.

Murdock hesitated for a moment, considering the warning, then pressed on. "That girl came to us for help, Hannibal! What are you going to do? Turn your back on your family?" He paused to gauge Hannibal's reaction, to see if he had gone to far, then continued in a quieter voice. "You and I both know she has no chance if she goes at this alone."

* * *

Face and BA watched Hannibal and Murdock through the glass. They couldn't make out what was being said, but from their actions they could tell it was a very heated discussion. 

"What do you think's going on, Faceman?" BA asked.

Face shook his head and replied, "I don't know, but there's something we're not being told about this girl."

* * *

Murdock sighed and sat down on one of the chairs. "It all comes down to this, Colonel: she's your daughter and she needs help." 

"You're making this out to be far simpler than it is, Captain," Hannibal muttered quietly, chewing on another cigar. As he stared out over the beach away from Murdock, memories of his past came flooding back.

He remembered a girl with the same wavy brown hair Nicole had, and a pair of the prettiest green eyes he'd ever seen. He remembered laying injured in the hospital and having her take care of him. It had been one of the toughest times in his life and she had helped him through it. "Linda," he whispered to himself.

"How would you feel if something were to happen to her?" Murdock asked, snapping him back to the present.

The question struck a chord with Hannibal, who turned to look at the pilot. When Murdock nodded silently at him, he came to a decision.


	3. Was There Ever Any Doubt?

Well, the last chapter had some answers. This one has...well, this one has a Face scam, lol. Thanks to Jes (my beta/bunny helper at the time I wrote this chapter) and Spee (my summary lady, and new bunny helper person) for their help. Read, review, don't flame!

And remember, no updates without reviews! Even a quick "I like it" would be good. And if you hate it, help me fix it with some polite advice :)

* * *

After driving back to her hotel room to change, Nicole drove to a spot not too far down the road from a large mansion just outside of the city belonging to Stephen Tobin, one of the gun runners she was after. She hopped out of the car and went into the trunk, pulling out a bag containing a few items she'd need to break into the mansion. With a quick check of her pockets, she started through the foliage up the hill to the mansion.

A part of her wished Smith had agreed to help her so she wouldn't have to break into a mobster's house in broad daylight. But she had no time to waste with Jack Gladwin, the agent who had likely betrayed the others, still out there. It wouldn't be long before he found out that she was still around.

Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a pair of goggles and fixed them on. Now that she would be able to avoid tripping the alarms, she started to slowly make her way across to the property. There were two men patrolling the perimeter near the fence where she decided to make her entry.

She needed a distraction.

Before she could formulate a plan, the guards both received calls on their radios to check out a disturbance in the north-east corner of the property. It was nowhere near Nicole, and was, frankly, a much better distraction than anything she could have come up with.

She waited to the count of three, then hopped the fence and ran to the hedges along the bottom of the mansion, slowly crawling along until she reached a set of double glass doors. Looking in the window first, she carefully checked that it was empty, then, after checking again for alarms, used her glass cutter to make a hole in the glass door by the door knob. As soon as she was done, she reached her hand through the hole and opened the door. Slowly and carefully she slid into the room, then made her way to Tobin's desk, and got to work.

* * *

"I don't know about this, Hannibal," Face complained from his seat in the Van. They were parked out front of the restaurant Vasil Shirral was eating in.

"Face," Hannibal said sternly. "She's not gonna check into a hotel using her real name. All we have to go on is that Shirral's in town and she's after a guy who deals with him. Now, we need you to go in there and plant that bug on him."

The conman sighed and reached for the door handle, pulling open the door. "Why is it always me?" he muttered melodramatically.

Face walked into the restaurant and scanned the area for Shirral, immediately spotting him on his way to the washrooms. He waited a heartbeat, then followed the man. When he walked in he spotted Shirral busy at the urinals.

He needed a plan and he needed it fast.

It was ridiculous and almost amateurish, but he'd used it at least a dozen times before and he would probably use it again. Not to mention it was about his only option.

With a quick check to see that Shirral was occupied, Face pulled out a piece of gum and quickly chewed it. Another quick check and he pulled the gum out and stuck it in the faucet of the other sink, then busied himself washing his hands. Well, washing his hand. In his other hand he held the tracking bug he would plant.

He smiled genially at Shirral as the man approached, and smiled genuinely when he turned on the tap and was immediately sprayed with water and chewed gum.

"Let me help you with that," Face offered kindly as he grabbed a handful of paper towel and began dabbing at the man's shirt. Before the man could push him away, he pinned the bug in Shirral's jacket pocket.

"Get off of me, you idiot! This suit costs more than you'll ever see in a lifetime," Shirral muttered angrily before leaving the washroom in a huff.

"I doubt that." Face grinned smugly, and dried himself off.

* * *

"Well?" Hannibal prompted as Face returned to the Van.

"Was there ever any doubt?" Face asked with an easy smile as he hopped in and shut the door.

BA grunted as he pulled out a small screen and watched the little blip that represented the tracking device on Shirral. It was still in the restaurant.

"Hannibal, what's going on here?" Face asked. "I mean, I can't help the feeling that there's something going on that BA and I don't know about."

The Colonel chewed on his cigar and frowned for a moment, then reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the letter Nicole had given him, handing it to Face.

Face read the letter once, then re-read it a couple of more times. "Your daughter?" he exclaimed once he'd read the letter for what must the fourth or fifth time. "She's your daughter?"

"What?" BA shouted, temporarily looking away from the screen to stare at Hannibal curiously.

"And how did you know before we did?" Face asked, turning to Murdock.

Leaning his elbow on the armrest and resting his chin in his hand, Murdock replied without hesitation, "her eyes. They're Hannibal's."

Face blinked, then turned back to look at Hannibal. "This is why you're so anxious to find her?"

Hannibal pulled his cigar out of his mouth and examined it closely. "Can't just turn my back on her, Face," he muttered, still looking at his cigar.

"Have you thought this through, though, Colonel?" Face pressed on. "I mean _really_ thought this through?"

The Colonel's head snapped up and he looked angrily in Face's direction. "You want me to just forget about her?"

"That's not what I meant, Hannibal," Face said apologetically. "I'm all for helping the girl, but I just wanted to make sure we weren't going in halfcocked. Do you even have a plan?"

Eyes narrowing, he replied, "I've thought this through, Face."

BA's voice broke the tense air. "He's moving," the Sergeant muttered, fixing the screen back on the dashboard before starting the Van.


	4. My Hero

I know I said I wasn't going to update without a review, but someone added my story to their favourites list, lol...it softened me up ;) Just as a sort of pre-warning, the next chapter will deal with some sensitive issues. Anyway, everyone at OtJ (my forum) seemed to really love that chapter, so the sooner I get reviewed (or favourited, lol), the sooner the chapter goes up ;) In other words, R&R :)

* * *

A sudden commotion in the hall caused Nicole to look up from where she was planting the bug. Before she could move, the doors slammed open and Tobin's security men burst in, their guns pointed in her direction. She froze, dropping both the bug and the phone she had been in the process of planting it in, then stuck her hands in the air, grinning sheepishly. 

With the room and the intruder secured, Stephen Tobin himself stepped casually in. He stopped a good distance away from Nicole on the other side of the desk. "I thought you people were professionals," he sneered as he signaled to his men to grab and disarm her.

The one guard did a quick search for weapons, then another pushed her forward onto the desk and cuffed her hands behind her back. He pulled her up by the hair and pushed her around to the other side of the desk.

Tobin looked her over with a sneer. "Take her to the basement and shoot her," he ordered.

As she was walking by him, Nicole tripped on the carpet and fell sideways into Tobin, knocking him off balance and falling to the carpet. One of Tobin's men yanked her up roughly and shoved her out the door, while Tobin brushed himself off.

"That was some sloppy work, baby," one of the three men escorting her down the hall muttered to her. She nearly lost her balance when the man shoved her shoulder to encourage her to walk faster.

The third man broke off through a doorway just as they neared the main foyer of the mansion, and Nicole heard him apologizing to someone for the delay. Cocking her head slightly she tried to listen to the rest of the conversation, but whatever might have been said was cut off as a black BMW drove through the front doors.

Nicole ducked down and rolled forward, then ran for cover behind a sculpture in the hall. "Why didn't I grab the keys?" she muttered to herself as she tried to manipulate her body and get her hands around front.

At the sound of someone approaching she looked up just in time to see Lieutenant Peck slide to a stop and fall to the ground beside her. "You wouldn't happen to have a spare set of keys, would you?" she asked over the hail of gunfire.

He pulled a leather pouch out of his jacket and, with a smooth grin, replied, "no, but I have the next best thing." Unzipping the pouch, he revealed a set of lock picks.

"My hero," Nicole muttered, her hands held out toward him.

"We can always leave the cuffs on next time," Peck mumbled with a sly smile as he quickly freed her hands.

"Cute," she said, smiling tightly. "You have a weapon for me?"

Peck's expression became slightly nervous. "Well, uh, not as such," he muttered. "Just, uh, stay close and I'll cover you, okay?"

Nicole rolled her eyes and replied, "well, I've heard worse plans."

"Count of three?"

She nodded, flinching slightly as one of the shots hit a little too close by for comfort.

"One. Two. Three!" Nicole ran out first with Face providing cover fire as he ran close behind her.

When she had made it to the doors where Colonel Smith was waiting, he pointed her to a large black, red and grey van that had parked itself right on top of what used to be a very expensive fountain. Shaking her head and smiling to herself, she nodded and ran for the opened side door of the van, accepting Murdock's outstretched hand and the rifle he offered her. Immediately she went to the back bench and opened the back doors, steadying herself on the bench as she took aim.

"Go, BA!" she heard Colonel Smith shout as the van screeched away from the mansion.

Face came to sit beside her, propping himself up as she had done and firing out the back doors.

One of Tobin's men - the third one that had been escorting Nicole - burst out the front door and started shouting orders to follow the van. He then pulled a radio out and yelled into it as well - presumably warning whoever was at the gate. But Nicole focused her attention on the cars starting to follow the van.

She and Face shifted their aim slightly and opened fire on the vehicles, trying to blow out the tires. When they'd blown the tires on the lead car, the one directly behind slammed into it, disabling two vehicles at once. The driver of the third car took a bullet and wound up plowing the car into one of the pillars at the gates as BA sped away from the compound.

As soon as they'd reached the bottom of the hill and driven a safe distance, Nicole and Face leaned forward and pulled the back doors shut.

Colonel Smith turned around in his seat and watched her take the seat beside Murdock. "You okay, kid?" he asked her, a note of concern in his voice.

"Yeah," she replied with a nod. "Could have gotten myself out, though. What made you…how did you find…?"

Pulling out a cigar and lighting it, Smith replied, "Face found out that Shirral was in town. We tracked him down and followed him."

"Why? What made you change your mind?"

"If you'll recall, I didn't say 'yes' or 'no,' kid - you took off," he pointed out.

Nicole slouched in the seat, looking a little embarrassed. "Didn't really have time for a debate," she muttered. "And the conversation didn't seem to be headed in a very co-operative direction."

"What made you decide to go into a place like that alone?" Murdock interrupted the conversation. The look on his face suggested that he thought she was insane.

She shrugged. "Had to get the bugs planted somehow."

"There must have been a better way than _that_," he exclaimed, looking concerned.

"It's nice to know you were worried, Captain, but I'm fine and I would have been fine even if you hadn't come for me." As the team exchanged glances she smiled dryly and asked, "anyway, can we go back and get my car now?"

"You want us to go _back_ there?" Face exclaimed incredulously.

Turning her head to face him, she shot back, "you want me to leave my baby back there?"

"Where did you leave it?" Colonel Smith asked patiently.

"North-west corner, bottom of the hill just off the property. Why?" she asked skeptically. "Are we going back for it?"

"_We_ are not," Smith replied obstinately.

When he exchanged a glance with Lieutenant Peck, Nicole turned to look back at the man, and, out of the corner of her eye, saw his arm raised. But before she could react, she felt a sharp pain on the back of her neck and slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

Murdock reached out and caught Nicole as her body slouched forward, then gently propped her back up in her seat and fastened her seatbelt. He reached his hand around back of her head and lightly ran his fingers over the spot where Face had hit her with the butt of his gun. "She'll have one gonzo headache when she wakes up," he muttered. "Did you have to hit her so hard?"

Hannibal turned back to face the front, and muttered to BA, "pull the van off to the side here."

"I didn't mean to, I…," Face started.

"She gonna be okay, Murdock?" Hannibal asked as he glanced back at the Captain.

The Captain nodded. "Like I said, she'll have a gonzo headache and probably one heck of a goose egg on her noggin, but otherwise…"

"Good," he muttered as BA pulled the van to a stop. "Find her keys and go get her car, will you, Captain?"

Again Murdock nodded, then he began patting her down to find the keys. When he found them he looked once at Face before opening the door and leaving.

* * *

Nicole groaned as she awoke with a headache. Reaching her hand around back of her head, she felt a rather large and painful lump at the base of her skull. When she sat up, she felt dizzy and her vision became clouded, the sensation causing her to move her hand from the back of her head to her forehead and squeeze her eyes shut. "Great," she muttered.

To her right she heard footsteps and risked opening one eye. Lieutenant Peck was offering her a glass of water and Tylenols. "Thanks," she muttered her acceptance as she took the glass and the pills. She tossed the pills into her mouth, and downed the glass of water in one swig.

"How're you feeling, kid?" Colonel Smith asked from the couch across from where she was seated.

Reaching up to hold her head again, she replied, "like I just downed a gallon of ice cream in about 30 seconds flat and have the worst ice cream headache on record."

"Sounds about right, minus the ice cream part," Murdock muttered.

Suddenly, she remembered her car and stood up a little too quickly. A pair of arms steadied her as she swayed.

"Easy, there, muchacha," she heard Murdock mumble.

"My car?" she grunted.

"I drove it back for ya, it's in the driveway."

She nodded and let him help her sit back down. After her vision had cleared somewhat and her head had stopped spinning she looked up at Colonel Smith. "Why did you have to knock me out?" she muttered.

"We just pulled you out of that place, kid," Smith replied. "I wasn't about to let you go back in."

"But you let Captain Murdock go back in?" she shot back, suddenly angry.

Smith waved a dismissive hand and replied, "Murdock can handle himself."

"And so can I! And why are we arguing when we should be listening to that bug? And where is Sergeant Baracas?" Nicole stopped and took a couple of deep breaths to relax herself a little, then calmly added, "and would you please stop calling me 'kid,' my name is Nicole."

"BA's in the other room setting up an amplifier so we can all listen in, k-," Smith stopped and corrected himself, "Nicole."

"Thank you," she mumbled quietly. She leaned her head back on the couch and closed her eyes; the shouting she had done certainly hadn't helped her headache any.


	5. Look Familiar To Anyone Else?

Ooh! A review! That means an update! But, erm, only cause I had this written waaaaaaay back in April, lol ;) See how quickly updates show up with reviews? lol

Thanks to people who have reviewed, and thanks to Spee and Jes! Remember, visit OtJ (link in profile)...join, if you feel so inclined ;) The idea for this came from a discussion Jes and I had, then started a while later on OtJ.

R&R! Beware the squick!

* * *

Twenty minutes later, when her headache had subsided, Nicole followed the others into the room where BA was setting up the amplifier. 

"How's it coming, BA?" Hannibal asked as he walked into the room.

Without looking up, the Sergeant replied, "almost done, Hannibal. Another five minutes."

Nicole stood in the doorway, taking in the various items near BA - a lot of them looked familiar. "You went through my car," she muttered unhappily.

"We did," Hannibal admitted with a grin.

"Wonderful," she mumbled irritably as she walked over to the window to look out at the ocean. After a moment, she began to fidget impatiently as they waited for BA to finish. Just as she was about to ask how much longer it would be for the third time in as many minutes Tobin's voice came over the speakers. She quickly crossed the room and stood behind and to the right of where BA was seated at the desk; Murdock stood on the left and Hannibal stood at her right.

"That's her," a familiar voice confirmed.

Nicole grinned ferally. "Jack Gladwin," she explained to the team. "The other agent that was on assignment when the blast went off." Her grin faded and she was silent for a moment. "This pretty much confirms that he's the one who sold us out, and..."

Murdock reached over and put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly.

"Are you certain you got everything?" Gladwin asked. "I'm almost certain she would have planted more than one bug."

"Smarter than I would have given him credit for," Nicole murmured with a smirk.

"She tried to," Tobin replied. It was almost possible to hear the smug grin in his voice. "We caught her putting one in the phone. On her way out she made a decent attempt to plant another one - on me - by falling into me 'accidentally.' As I said, a decent attempt."

Hannibal looked questioningly at her. "I planted one in the stapler - nobody ever looks there," she explained.

"Who were the men that broke her out?" another voice asked.

The new speaker continued on, but whatever he said was lost on Nicole as his voice took her back into her memories.

As she sunk to the ground, reality becoming lost to her, she was dimly aware of Colonel Smith calling her name and a pair of arms around her shoulders easing her down.

Then all she could hear was distant shouting and screaming, and all she felt was numbness.

She was naked, that much she knew. The cold bit at her skin and she was seated on the cold, hard ground, her knees to her chest for added warmth. The sound of the large metal door opening made her look up, only to see the arrogant smirk of the man who had violated and humiliated her more times than she cared to count. Her breath caught in her throat, but she was determined not to let him see her fear - not this time.

A gentle shaking and the sound of someone calling her name brought her slowly back to reality. Her father, sitting beside her, held her in his arms while the others watched with concern, but she didn't want to face any of them yet, to deal with it, so she turned her head and buried her face in her father's chest. He held her close and whispered soothing things to her as she silently cried herself to sleep.

* * *

As soon as Nicole had fallen asleep Hannibal stood up with her in his arms. "Look familiar to anyone else?" he muttered. 

BA and Face nodded quietly, while Murdock quietly replied, "very."

"I'm going to go put her in one of the bedrooms," Hannibal announced. "BA, stay here and monitor that bug. Face, Murdock, follow me."

Face quickly jogged out ahead of Hannibal and held the door open for him as he walked through with Nicole. Gently laying his daughter on the bed, Hannibal turned to Murdock and Face. "Stay with her. She might want to talk when she wakes up, and somehow I think you two stand a better chance of getting her to open up."

The two men nodded quietly and sat down on the two chairs at the small table in the corner of the room. Hannibal cast one last look at the girl sleeping on the bed before leaving to help BA. As much as it pained him, she was more likely to be comfortable with a smaller group, and with people who had been through what she had.

* * *

She was being held down on the ground while the man hovered above her, a wicked gleam in his eye. _Not this time_, she repeated to herself. _No fear, no crying, not this time._ He liked it when she cried, but if she wasn't enjoying herself, she was determined that he wouldn't either. _Not this time. _The words were a mantra she kept repeating over and over in her head. 

As she felt him enter her she squeezed her eyes shut and closed her ears to his taunts. He wouldn't leave until she had climaxed; he wanted her to be utterly humiliated, and what better way to do that than to make her think she had enjoyed it? And that was why she couldn't break. She wouldn't break. He didn't deserve the satisfaction.

The laughter of the man's comrades grew louder as did his voice in her ears, and she felt a tear stream down her face. Finally she couldn't take it anymore; she screamed at the top of her lungs.

Suddenly Lieutenant Peck was sitting on the bed beside her, telling her everything was okay, that it had only been a nightmare. It took a moment to get her bearings, she was confused.

The beach house, she was at the beach house.

She brought a hand to her face and rubbed at her eyes as she took deep breaths, then she felt Peck's hand rubbing her back, soothing her.

The sound of the door opening caused her to look up as Captain Murdock came into the room with a glass of cold water and sat on the other side of the bed, offering it to her.

She accepted the glass with both hands and brought it to her lips, trying to stop the shaking. "It was only a dream," she muttered to herself, bringing the side of the cold glass to her forehead. It felt freezing cold because of the ice, almost painfully cold, but it felt real, so she kept it there for a while longer.

"You all right, muchacha?" Murdock asked, eyeing her with concern.

Nicole nodded. "Where's…um…?" She had no idea what she was supposed to call Hannibal now.

Murdock inclined his head to the door, and replied, "he's still out there with BA. monitoring that bug you planted."

Again she nodded. Looking up at both of their faces, she saw how worried they had been and still were. "I'm fine," she muttered. "Sorry for, um…" Sorry for what? Screaming? Had she screamed? She didn't know. Sorry for worrying them, maybe? She sighed and, bringing the cup away from her forehead, took another sip of water.

"It's okay," Face told her softly. "Murdock and I have both been through it before."

"From your side, too," Murdock added.

Nicole snapped her head in his direction. Did they know what she had been through? Did he just say they had been though it too? She searched his eyes, looking for some kind of answer. When she found it her eyes went wide and, after looking in Face's eyes for confirmation, she dropped the glass of ice water on the bed.

"Damn it," she swore as the ice cold water soaked through the blanket and onto her legs. She jumped off the bed and grabbed a dry corner of the blanket to dry her legs, but it was no good, her pants were soaked with cold water.

Face picked up the wet blanket and said, "don't worry about the blanket. I'll go stick it in the dryer, and, while I'm at it, see if I can find you a dry pair of pants."

Looking a little stressed out, she nodded and muttered, "sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Face assured her gently as he made his way to the door. "I'll be back in a little bit with a pair of pants for you."

"I'd like to know how it is he would know there were pants for me when this isn't even his house," Nicole muttered with a nervous laugh as soon as the door shut.

Murdock smiled slightly and said, "that's Faceman for you."

She quickly returned the smile, but then started pacing a little. "So, um, what, exactly, do you think…happened…to me?" she asked nervously as she stopped her pacing to look at him.

His expression became deadly serious, with a hint of sadness, as he quietly replied, "abuse, torture, humiliation…rape…"

The last word made Nicole hang her head and look away. "I thought I'd moved past it," she muttered. Moving to sit down on the edge of the bed, she buried her face in her hands.

He sat down on the bed beside her. "It's a hard thing to do," he muttered as he reached over to rub her back gently as Face had done.

"You said you've been through it from my side?" she asked, looking him in the eyes. Part of her still couldn't believe it. In all honesty the idea that someone had put Murdock and Peck through the same things she had been through scared her. At the same time, though, it gave her hope because they were dealing with it, and if they could, she could.

After a brief hesitation, he breathed, "yeah." He closed his eyes and stopped rubbing her back as he pulled her close in a one armed hug, needing someone, anyone, while he relived it in his mind. "You know, those POW camps weren't exactly Club Med."

"Yeah," she agreed softly, leaning her head on his shoulder. "How did you deal with it?"

"Honestly?"

She nodded.

"I drank. A lot." He sighed. "Talked to some shrinks, too - Richter's helped a lot. It was a lot harder before him, he was the only one who saw through me. Knows where I'm coming from."

Just then Face walked in with a pair of dry pants, but stopped short upon seeing Murdock and Nicole. He stepped forward and handed Nicole the pants, then muttered something about helping Hannibal and BA before leaving once again.

"You want me to leave so you can change?" Murdock muttered.

Shaking her head Nicole replied, "nope. Forgot I was even wet." She closed her eyes for a second and was immediately taken into the past once more. Images and feelings she thought she had long left behind flashed in her minds eye. With a startled gasp she opened her eyes, and forced herself to breathe deeply and calm down.

Murdock pulled her a little closer and started rubbing her arm gently, and asked, "do you wanna talk about it?"

"Is 'no, I'd rather forget about it' a good answer?" she mumbled with a sad smile.

"Sounds like a fairly normal answer to me."

"Good," she mumbled, bringing her legs up on the bed and curling them underneath herself. They were both silent for a while, then Nicole spoke up. "It was one of the first assignments I went on," she confessed softly. "Must have been…geez, twelve years ago. I was in a concrete cell, they took my clothes…it was so cold in there." She shivered, despite the warm weather, at the sudden cold she felt from the memory. "It was always the same man…happened a lot, not sure exactly how many times…it all sort of blurred together. I don't even know how long I was there. When I got back, I was told I had been missing for a week, but…"

"You don't remember," Murdock supplied knowingly.

Nicole shook her head. "Nope. It's all just a blur. Comes back in flashes still, though. Had to talk to a shrink when they found out what had happened - wouldn't let me back on duty until I talked to and was cleared by said shrink. Basically, I just went along with it all until I was cleared for duty - wasn't too happy about it, though."

They were both quiet for a moment, then Nicole spoke again. "Haven't talked to anyone like this in a long time," she admitted quietly.

"Feel any better?" he asked softly.

She thought about it for a minute, then replied, "yeah. I do." It was strange to think she could feel this much better after talking to someone who was essentially a complete stranger about something so personal, but the fact remained that she did indeed feel better.

Her legs started feeling a little sore, so she adjusted her position a little. "Don't have to go back out there yet, do we?"

"No, we don't," he assured her, resting his head on hers. "Just let me know when you're ready."

With a nod she wrapped an arm around behind him and hugged herself closer to him for comfort, then closed her eyes and tried to relax.


	6. Lovely Workout Room On The Top Floor

Another review, another update :) But I only have one more chapter after this written, so updates won't be coming as quickly, lol. I hope to have this fic completed soon so I can get started on the sequel :)

R&R!

Edited out the code marks and added divider lines. Whoops, lol.

* * *

Face backed out of the room and closed the door quietly. He went back through the livingroom and into the office, Hannibal and BA looking up at him as he entered. 

BA quietly turned his attention back to the receiver as Hannibal stood up and approached Face. "How is she?" the Colonel asked, frowning and chomping down on a cigar.

With a shake of his head Face replied, "looks like she's opening up to Murdock. I thought it was probably best to leave them alone - easier to talk with only one other person."

Hannibal nodded his agreement as Face sat down on a chair near the door. "You think she'll be all right?"

Looking up at Hannibal, Face nodded his head quietly. "Yeah," he replied, running a hand through his hair. There was a long silence before Face decided to speak again. "I wonder what triggered it."

"She seemed perfectly fine until that one scumbag started to speak," the Colonel observed thoughtfully as he chomped down on his cigar again.

"You think it was him?" Face asked hesitantly.

Hannibal frowned and didn't bother to reply, instead turning his attention back to the bug BA had been quietly listening to. "Turn it up, BA," he ordered distractedly.

* * *

Half an hour later Murdock and Nicole appeared in the doorway to the office, his arm around her shoulders for support. She looked nervous.

Pulling the cigar out of his mouth, Hannibal asked, "how're you holding up?"

With a reassuring glance at Murdock, she stepped forward a bit and replied, "fine. Guess I was just thrown for a loop there." Every pair of eyes in the room was on her, even BA was only half-listening to the bug, and it made her uncomfortable. "I, um…I suppose there's no point in pretending you don't know what happened." She sighed and rubbed a hand over her face in frustration. "It was him. That last voice before I…that's what triggered it. After twelve years I just wasn't expecting to hear his voice again, you know?"

Hannibal approached her slowly and reached a hand out to her shoulder, causing her to look up at him for the first time since she had entered the room. "You sure you're okay?"

She took a deep breath and held it for a second before releasing it slowly and nodding. "I'll live," she muttered. Awkwardly she stepped away from her father and walked over to BA. "Is he still there?"

The Sergeant shook his head. "No. Left about fifteen minutes ago."

"Okay," she muttered, nodding her head and staring blankly at a random spot on the floor. "We're going to need to find out where they're staying in town."

The team exchanged a quick look, then Hannibal turned to Face. "Lieutenant?"

Hesitantly Face nodded and stood up. "Right, Colonel."

"I'll go with you," Nicole volunteered.

The expression on the Colonel's face made it clear that he wasn't very pleased with the idea of Nicole going along. In fact, none of the team looked happy about it.

She gave an exasperated sigh and muttered, "I _can _handle _myself_, you know. I've been doing this for quite a while now. Besides, this is _my _job, we're going to do it _my _way."

"Look, kid," Hannibal began with a sympathetic look, but at the expression on her face he corrected himself, "Nicole, I don't think it's a good idea for you to -"

"This is _my _job," she interrupted with a glare.

"Honey, we're just worried about you," Murdock said, stepping out of the doorway and moving closer to her.

"I know that, but -." Before continuing, she stopped herself and took a deep breath. "Look, all we're going to do is find out where they're staying in town, right? We're not confronting them." She held Hannibal's gaze for a moment, then muttered, "I'll be careful."

Hannibal nodded reluctantly. "All right, kid," he muttered, trading a glance with Face that clearly told him to watch out for his daughter.

Nicole noticed the silent exchange, but chose not to say anything as Face nodded in response. Instead she turned around and lead the way out the door.

* * *

Face pulled his 'Vette to a stop in front of a very large, very expensive looking hotel, and climbed out, smiling broadly at Nicole as she came to a stop beside him.

"Are you sure about this?" she muttered quietly.

"You heard what Tony said," Face muttered, placing a hand at the small of her back and leading her toward the entrance of the hotel. "Tobin has the owner in his pocket. This is where he would put them up." He held the door open for her, and followed her in. "All we have to do is confirm it - you _could_ wait in the car."

"Or _you _could wait in the car," she shot back quietly.

Face hid a smirk at the remark. As they neared the front desk he offered the concierge his most brilliant smile. "We're looking for Mr. Ben Campbell, Mr. Tobin told us we might find him here."

The man gave them the once over, a sour look on his face. "Wait here while I check the register," he told them.

Nicole smiled patiently at him as he turned and left. The moment he was out of earshot she turned to Face, her smile still firmly in place, and mumbled quietly, her lips barely moving, "I don't like this."

"What's to like?" he returned just as softly, mimicking her happy expression.

She gave him a quick, tight grin, then turned back to the desk as the concierge returned. "Mr. Campbell and Mr. Gladwin are staying in our penthouse suite."

Nicole cast a quick sideways glance at Face. They hadn't said anything about Gladwin, had they?

"Wonderful," Face exclaimed happily without missing a beat. If he had noticed the concierge's mention of the former agent, he wasn't showing it. "If you could just deliver a message for us..."

The man smiled smugly at them. "Actually, you can deliver it yourselves. Mr. Campbell and Mr. Gladwin would like very much to speak with you in person."

Both Nicole and Face went rigid as they felt gun barrels being pressed into their backs.

A brief moment of panic overtook Nicole, but it didn't show on her face and was quickly suppressed. She cast a quick glance over her shoulder at the very large man behind her, then looked back at the concierge. "I will find you," she muttered. "And don't think Tobin or Campbell will be able to help you."

He smiled at her and spoke as though talking to a small child, "I don't take kindly to idle threats, Miss."

"Neither do I," she growled before allowing herself to be led away.

Upon reaching the waiting elevator, the man behind her shoved her inside first, then Face. The two men cuffed their prisoners before turning around and pushing the button for the top floor. Standing behind the goons, who obviously didn't consider them a threat, Face cast a worried glance at Nicole as the elevator began its ascent to the penthouse suite. She returned the look and offered him a quick grin to show that she was all right.

When the elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open the two large goons shoved the pair out, where another pair of angry men were waiting one on each side of the doors. Neither of them acknowledged the man and woman being forcefully led through the suite, which was elaborately decorated in rich reds and golds, to a large set of double doors.

The doors were opened and the two of them were shoved inside, then the doors were closed with a resounding bang, the goons standing to each side as the pair at the elevators had. Both Nicole and Face straightened and took in their surroundings. They were in a large office decorated in the same lavish manner as the rest of the suite. On the opposite side of the room was an oversized desk where Campbell sat, Gladwin standing beside him to his left.

Nicole straightened as she took a few steps closer to the desk, feeling the knot in her stomach tighten. She stared straight at Campbell, her eyes hard and angry.

Campbell smirked at her, ignoring Face for the time being. "Figured out my name, did you?"

"Somehow I didn't think your name was _nemo_," she shot back. "I suppose you thought you were being clever?"

Standing up, he walked around to the front of the desk and leaned back on it, still smiling at her. "I must say, you hiring the A-team was a surprise," he admitted, gesturing a hand toward Face. "From what Jack told me, I had you figured as the 'works alone' type."

Nicole shifted her gaze slowly to the former agent. "You'll find Jack isn't as clever as he claims," she muttered, glaring at the man.

Campbell nodded and pushed up off the desk, walking slowly toward her. "I admit he's made a few mistakes." He stopped walking when he was just out of Nicole's reach and cast a glance behind him before returning to her. "For instance, you were supposed to be in the house when the bomb went off." His gaze travelled up and down her body. "Though I _can_ see an upside to the situation."

"Don't you touch her," Face growled, starting forward angrily. But before he could reach Campbell, one of the goons at the door had darted toward him and held him in place.

Throughout the very brief altercation, neither Nicole nor Campbell had moved; they both remained stock-still staring each other down.

As he started forward, ignoring Face's shouted threats, Nicole had to fight not to shake. She recognized the look in his eyes all too well. Though the expression on her face remained angry, tears were starting to well up in her eyes. But she couldn't break down. There was someone else there this time and she had to get both him and herself out.

When Campbell was only inches away, she reached out and disarmed him with one swift movement, then pulled him toward her. She wrapped an arm around his throat and pressed the gun to his temple, then looked at the goon that had Face pinned down. "Let him go," she growled, cocking the gun.

The man looked to Campbell, who, upon having the gun pressed harder into the side of his head, nodded slowly. When he let him go, Face turned around and took his gun, aiming it at the other guard. "You know what to do," he muttered.

"You too, Jack," Nicole ordered without looking at him.

As soon as all the weapons had been tossed aside, Face smiled. "Now, everyone on the other side of the room." He opened the doors for Nicole and allowed her to step out first with Campbell, then followed her out, locking the doors behind them.

With a little prompting from Nicole, Campbell ordered his men to drop their weapons and move away from the elevator. Face stepped in first, one hand on the button, the other covering Nicole as she pulled Campbell back into the elevator. When they were all inside he slapped the button and smiled as the elevator doors closed.

"Do you really think you'll escape?" Campbell sneered.

"Yes," Nicole replied with a tight fake smile as Face just glared at the man.

Nothing more was said as they went down to the ground floor.

When the doors opened Face went out first, then Nicole shoved Campbell out. Several patrons gasped as they noticed the guns.

"Lovely workout room on the top floor," Face muttered politely as they made their way to the door.

Nicole smirked at the concierge, tossing a wink at him as she shoved Campbell forward, then sprinted out the door with Face. "Where's your car?" she gasped as they came to a stop where the car should have been.

"Couldn't be too far," Face muttered, starting to run again. "We weren't in there that long."

"Which doesn't matter if it was driving when it left," she remarked as she heard shouting behind them, followed by the sound of gunfire.

They rounded a corner and breathed a sigh of relief as they saw Face's car sitting in the parking lot. Hopping in, they both buckled their seatbelts, then Nicole grabbed the gun Face had taken, and began shooting at Campbell's men as they came around the corner.

Face started the car, and peeled out of the lot. Beside him Nicole kept her eyes on the mirrors, watching for any sign of the cars she knew would be following them.

It didn't take long. Nicole leaned out with one of the guns and shot once in the direction of one of the two cars, hoping to hit something vital. "You don't have more clips, do you?" she shouted over the noise.

"Check behind your seat," he yelled back, pulling the car into a sharp left turn.

Looking behind her once the car had made the turn, Nicole saw an M-16. "It's not a clip, but it'll work," she muttered with a smile. Once again she leaned out the side of the car and opened fire. A moment later the lead car slammed into a telephone pole.

"Nice shot," Face complimented, checking his rearview mirror. Ahead of the 'Vette, he saw a large transport truck and decided go for it. "Hold on!" He made sure Nicole was sitting back inside the car, then stepped on the gas, and swerved around the truck, smiling to himself as he saw the remaining car try to avoid the truck, only to run into another car and flip over.

Nicole laughed a little, and relaxed in her seat as the 'Vette sped away. When they were a few blocks away, she felt the adrenaline wearing off and the reality of the situation sinking in. Her thoughts focussed on what Campbell had tried to do, and she closed her eyes, trying to calm down.

She started as she felt a hand on hers, and opened her eyes to see Face glancing worriedly at her as he tried to drive. "I'm okay," she muttered. "Just the adrenaline wearing off and...I'll be fine."

He nodded, and started driving in the direction of the beach house. Hannibal wasn't going to be happy.


	7. We'll Get The Suckas!

First off, Review responses!

**Dana**, Thank you. The idea for this fic actually came from something totally different (it won't be dealt with for a while...I plan on making this a small series of fics crosses fingers). I hope you like this update as well :)

**Spee**, You should feel important, lol. And, yes, I stole your idea...whatcha gonna do, cry about it:p

**fireinu**, Thank you.

**Myra**, I know you like it. Thanks for the review :)

**Luna**, Thank you. I hope you've enjoyed the rest of the fic so far :)

**junkfoodmonkey2004**, Thank you so much! I fixed it up as per your suggestion :D

Phew! I'll have to start doing that more often :) Thanks again guys :)

Here's where the updates may become less frequent because everything to this point was written a while back. I'm in the middle of writing the next update, though, so hopefully that won't take more than a few days. crosses fingers again

Anyway, on to the fic!

R&R!

* * *

When they arrived back at the beach house an hour later, Nicole got out of the 'Vette before Face could even turn off the engine, and slammed the car door a little too hard. "Sorry," she muttered, reaching a shakey hand up to rub tiredly at her eyes. 

Face walked up beside her and put an arm around her shoulders, smiling sympathetically. "It's okay."

She smirked up at him and muttered, "I suppose any damage that did would be nothing compared to the bullet holes, anyway."

"Exactly," he agreed as he lead her up the stairs. They reached the door and he held it open for her, keeping a hand at the small of her back as she walked through to where Hannibal and BA were waiting in the livingroom.

Hannibal looked up from where he sat as soon as the door opened, concern in his eyes. "How'd it go?"

Out of the corner of her eye Nicole saw Face start to reply, but she beat him to it. "Found Campbell and Gladwin," she muttered a little too quickly as she dropped heavily into a chair.

Just then Murdock wandered into the room, drying his hands on a small towel. He stopped short when he saw Nicole. "What happened?"

She smiled humourlessly at him. "Found them."

"Not that it matters anymore," Face, standing behind her, added. "They've probably packed up and gone somewhere else by now."

"Campbell doesn't care," she muttered quietly. "He _wants_ us to know where he is...wants us to come after him..."

Hannibal stood up and walked over to Face, stopping just inches away from the man. "What _exactly_ happened, Lieutenant?" Obviously he wasn't very pleased with the situation, but he was doing his best to keep his cool.

"We, uh, we found the hotel Campbell was staying at," Face began nervously.

"And?" the Colonel prompted.

"And we went in to verify it," Nicole put in, standing up. She switched immediately from exhausted to annoyed. "Campbell sent a pair goons down to the lobby to bring us up to his lovely penthouse suite. We escaped."

"Wait a minute," Murdock interrupted. "Campbell..."

"...decided it would be fun to have a little chat?" Nicole finished for him with an irritated smile. "Oh yeah." She turned back to Hannibal and continued. "The point is, Campbell is arrogant. He doesn't care that we know where he is - hell, we barely got out as it is! He _wants_ us to come after him! Campbell doesn't see the five of us as a threat, and I doubt Tobin will either when he hears about what happened! I have a feeling they would _love_ the glory of killing you four, and I get the impression - from when he flat out said it earlier - that he wouldn't mind having me as his guest again either!" By this time she was shouting angrily and gesturing wildly with her hands as she spoke.

Every pair of eyes in the room was on Nicole as she brought a hand up to rub at the back of her neck and took a deep breath. "Look," she started quietly. "Whatever our next move is, it'll have to be very well planned, well thought out.

Hannibal stepped closer to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "It will be," he assured her gently. "But it's late, and we could all use some sleep."

BA stood up and softly growled, "don't you worry, mamma--we'll get the suckas."

She nodded, hesitating a moment before awkwardly stepping forward to hug her father. "Thank you," she said quietly as she rested her head on his shoulder.

* * *

Nicole sat on one of the long, white plastic chairs on the deck, staring out over the ocean. Her father had insisted she sleep at the beach house, and had even offered her his room, saying he would sleep on the couch. In the end they had compromised--she had agreed to stay with them, but only if she were the one sleeping on the couch. Somehow she didn't think she would be sleeping much anyway, and taking a room while someone who was actually tired slept on the couch seemed like a waste to her.

The events of the day kept replaying in her mind: meeting her father, hiring him to help her put away her mother's killers, hearing Campbell's voice again, having to actually see him in the flesh. It was almost too much for her to handle. All of that coupled with the fact that she hadn't really slept since her mother had been killed was really starting to wear her out.

"Can't sleep?"

Nicole jumped and looked to her right, where Murdock was standing and looking down at her with concern. She sat up straight and crossed her legs, leaving plenty of room on the end of the chair for him to sit down.

"Didn't mean to startle you," he muttered apologetically as he sat.

"It's okay," she said in a whisper as she looked down at her hands and began fiddling with the ring on her finger.

Murdock gestured toward the ring and asked, "nervous habit?"

"Something like that." She stopped playing with the ring and looked up at him again. "What are you doing up?"

"Same thing as you are, I'd expect," he replied with a slight grimace as he looked at her. "BA once said that I got all the demons in the world chasin' after me in my sleep."

Nicole smiled sadly and mumbled, "not an easy thing to deal with."

"No. It isn't," he admitted. He shook his head as though trying to clear it, then looked up at her. "How're you holding up?"

"I, uh, I don't know," she answered hesitantly. "Haven't actually had the nightmares in a while. Guess with all that's happened in the last few days..." The wetness she suddenly felt on her cheeks made her realize she must have started crying at some point, so she reached a hand up to wipe at the tears and laughed a little. "I haven't cried in years."

Murdock reached out and took her hand, squeezing it reassuringly. "Been a tough few days for you," he muttered.

"I suppose it has," she confessed. "Gotta admit, I really wasn't expecting Campbell to be involved in all this." She leaned forward and rested her forehead on Murdock's shoulder, letting the tears fall quietly.

"You wanna talk about what happened?" he asked softly, putting his arm around her.

With a quiet sniffle she turned to rest the side of her head on his shoulder so that her words wouldn't be muffled by the material of his robe. "It was so hard not to just...let go. You know what I mean? But I couldn't. When he...when he started...started ogling me Lieutenant Peck tried to stop him, but...I mean, we were outnumbered..." After she adjusted herself so she was seated sideways, she continued. "One of Campbell's men pinned him down...then Campbell started coming toward me... Figured we weren't getting out by overpowering them...so when he got close, I grabbed him..." She smirked. "I'll never forget the look on his face..."

"I'll bet," he mumbled, a slight smile tugging at his lips.

Her smile disappeared and another tear rolled down her cheek, soaking into Murdock's robe. "The look in his eyes when he..."

"I know," he muttered, pulling her a little closer. "I can't just make it all go away - I wish I could - but what I _can_ do is promise you that we're gonna get Campbell. And when we do, he's gonna regret he ever even laid eyes on you."

"That's got to be the cheesiest thing I've ever heard," Nicole chuckled. Still smiling, she wrapped her arms around his middle and pulled herself a little closer. "Thanks." After a few minutes of silence, she spoke up again. "Wanna talk about why _you're_ awake?"

The Captain took in a deep breath and released it shakily. "That, uh...that could take some time, sweetheart."

Casting a glance through the sliding glass doors into the livingroom, she saw that it was one o'clock in the morning. "We've got at least another five or six hours til anyone else gets up, and, I don't know about you, but I'm not getting back to sleep anytime soon."

"You sure?"

With a smile, Nicole stood up and offered him her hand. "Let's go put on a pot of coffee." He hesitated a moment, then returned her smile and took her hand as he stood up, following her into the kitchen.

* * *

Early the next morning Hannibal awoke and headed for the kitchen for a cup of coffee and some breakfast. When he opened the bedroom door and went into the livingroom he found Murdock sitting on the couch passed out, his head tossed back, and he was snoring--loudly.

Beside Murdock, Nicole was wide awake and watching TV. She looked up at him when he entered the room, and smiled uncertainly. Returning the smile he continued on his way to the kitchen, and she followed.

"The man had six cups of black coffee, and he's out like a light," she muttered quietly as she entered the room.

"Won't surprise you so much when you get to know him," Hannibal muttered as he poured the water into the coffee maker.

Nicole stepped farther into the room and took a seat at the kitchen table. "Got to know him pretty well last night. Must have been talking for about four and a half hours."

He bent down and pulled a frying pan out of the drawer, then went to the fridge for some eggs. "You get any sleep at all, kid?"

"Half an hour, forty-five minutes," she replied with a shrug. "You ever gonna stop calling me 'kid'?"

The Colonel half turned to look at her and grinned.

"Fine," she muttered, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

"You hungry?" he asked as he began cracking the eggs.

"If you're going to scramble some of those eggs, I am." Getting up from her seat, she crossed the room to stand near her father. "Want some help?"

"You know how to cook bacon?" he asked without looking at her.

His daughter smirked up at him and replied, "throw some strips of dead pig in a frying pan, try not to burn 'em."

A grin slowly came across his face--she reminded him so much of Linda. "You have you mom's sense of humour," he observed quietly.

Nicole's grin quickly faded as she bent down to retrieve a frying pan. "I miss her," she whispered. "You know, yesterday Campbell mentioned that I was supposed to be in the house when it blew. He was right. But at the last minute I..." She paused and shook her head. "I should have been there."

He reached out and put a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up at him. "You couldn't have done anything, kid," he said in what he hoped was a reassuring manner. "If you'd been there, you'd have been caught in the blast too."

"Maybe..." she trailed off.

Obviously she was determined to blame herself, so Hannibal decided on a different track. "What would you have done, kid?" he asked simply as he flipped his omelette.

"I..." she started.

Anyone could have seen that she didn't have an answer. "Had you been at that safe house, you wouldn't be _here_ now," he said seriously. Then he went back to his omelette and hurriedly added, "and, uh, of course, then there'd be nobody to lock up these scumbags."

With a frustrated sigh she went to the fridge and pulled out the bacon, then went back to the stove and turned on the burner.

Hannibal could see that deep down she probably realized she couldn't have helped Linda, but, given the circumstances, he could understand her frustration. "Why don't you sit down and let me cook the breakfast?" he offered.

Nicole smiled up at him wryly, and muttered, "I think I can handle frying some bacon..."

It wasn't that he didn't think she could handle cooking breakfast, but he thought she could probably stand to sit down. Nonetheless he decided not to push it, though he had to ask one last time. "You sure?"

"Yeah," she assured him with a smirk.

Nodding, he turned back to his frying pan and removed his omelette, then cracked a few more eggs and began scrambling them.

"So, what should I call you?" she asked suddenly without looking up from the bacon.

That was a good question. While he didn't want to push her away per se, he didn't quite feel ready to pull her closer either. "I don't know, kid," he admitted. "Don't really feel like a 'dad,' you see?"

"Whether you feel like it or not, it's a little late for second thoughts," she said quietly, still refusing to look up at him.

"I didn't exactly get a _first_ thought," he retorted quickly. Immediately, though, he regretted it. From the look on her face, the remark had obviously struck a nerve with her, but the flaring temper he had seen earlier didn't show this time.

Neither one spoke again until they sat down at the table and started eating. "Look, kid," Hannibal began. "It's...it's been _thirty years_ since I last saw Linda, _thirty years_ you've been around and I haven't known."

"Thirty-four," she corrected him before he could continue. "It's been closer to thirty-four years since you last saw mom, and I'll be thirty-three this year."

Thirty-three. He had a daughter that was thirty-three. When did he get to be that old? "When's your birthday?" he asked quietly.

"August nineteenth," she muttered.

"Less than two months from now," he mumbled thoughtfully.

Nicole smiled a little, and shook her head. "Yeah. Look, I don't expect this to...we're not going to have an overnight relationship. I know that. And it's not really anyone's fault." With a sigh she put down her fork and looked up at him, an apprehensive look in her eyes. "It'd be nice to at least try, though, don't you think?"

For a moment Hannibal sat silently, regarding his daughter, then remarked, "don't really beat around the bush, do ya, kid?"

"Not easily sidetracked either," she countered with a smirk.

The Colonel chuckled a little at his daughter's reply. "It's not gonna be easy," he told her soberly.

She lowered her eyes and quietly agreed, "I know. Hell, I don't even live around here, and I'm barely ever home; my job keeps me pretty...busy."

"That's another thing," Hannibal began. "How are your bosses going to feel about you hanging around with fugitives?"

"You say that like it's unusual for me to hang out with them," she chuckled as she finished off her eggs. "Trust me, you're not on their most wanted list right now." Getting up from the table, she crossed the room and put her dishes in the sink, then went to the fridge for a glass of juice. "Not to mention that if they really wanted you, they'd have you by now."

Before Hannibal could reply, a loud racket in the livingroom interrupted him.

BA came barging into the kitchen, growling at Murdock, who entered the kitchen a moment later fully dressed, about having a glass of milk. He went straight to the cupboards and pulled out a glass, then to the fridge.

The Captain grinned apologetically at both Hannibal and Nicole as he took a seat at the table; obviously he had tried to stop BA from entering the kitchen and interrupting their talk.

"BA, would you keep it down a little," a dishevelled Face complained as he entered the room. "Some of us are trying to sleep."

From the corner of his eye, Hannibal noticed Nicole bite back a laugh at the Lieutenant's abnormally messy appearance. "Glad you could join us, Lieutenant," he remarked with a grin. He was on the Jazz. "Have a seat!"

Face groaned as he took a seat at the table, and muttered, "it's 6:30 in the morning, Hannibal. Can't it wait another hour or so?"

"Why? We're all up now," he reasoned.

Again Face groaned. His glance happened to cross Murdock's shoes and he wrinkled his brow in confusion. "Murdock, why did you mark your shoes with a yellow highlighter?"

"Haven't lost them near so much since I did it," he remarked with a goofy grin. If he heard BA growling, he showed no sign of it. "So, what's the plan, Colonel?"

Hannibal opened his mouth to reply, but Nicole beat him to it. "We're not going to get Tate, not now. He's too careful. And I'm more concerned with Campbell and Gladwin right now. And they're expecting us."

"Then let's not disappoint them," Hannibal muttered dangerously.


	8. Damn

Review replies:

**MG**, glad you like the story!

**junkfoodmonkey**, thanks for the PM over at the Shrine :) Glad to know you're still following this :D And BIG thanks for helping me fix this all up. Since I'm apparently not allowed to use asterisks here, I'll use brackets, lol (hugs)

Notes: all fixed up! Thanks so much to **jfm **for helping me with this! It wasn't sitting right with me the first time around at all, lol. Originally this chapter was twice as long, but I've decided to break it up into two smaller parts cause I'm evil. (shameless OtJ fanfic forum plug) I generally post my fic updates on OtJ first (end shameless plug)

R&R!

* * *

A few hours later at eleven o'clock Nicole was waiting in the livingroom while Face, Murdock and her father changed into their uniforms. BA, finished already, was outside checking the weapons in the van. 

Her father had decided that they should be at the hotel for noon, causing Face and BA to grumble about going in at high noon and his flare for the dramatic. In all honesty, though, Nicole was grateful for the wait as it allowed her to get a little sleep--even if the only way she was able to get that sleep was to have one of the guys in the room with her.

She started pacing the room nervously as she went over the plan in her mind. The uniforms would make it look less suspicious to any guests if they had to draw their guns, and it had the added benefit of drawing attention from their features, should any guest report what they saw to the police.

One of the doors opened, and caused Nicole to snap out of her reverie and look in the direction of the noise. When she looked up she saw Murdock, fully dressed in his uniform, looking at her, concern in his eyes. As quickly as she could she covered the goofy grin she was certain she was wearing; he really looked good in uniform.

"What?" The expression on his face had gone from concern to confusion.

Apparently she hadn't covered it quick enough. Damn. "It's nothing," she muttered, trying not to smile.

"Is my tie crooked?" he asked, reaching his hands up to adjust it as looked down in an effort to see it.

Suddenly she was finding it hard not to laugh, only when she did it was more of a giggle than a laugh. Damn. "The tie's fine, Captain," she snickered.

He stopped fiddling with the tie and looked up at her. "Well, what the heck are you smiling at, then?"

Nicole sighed and rolled her eyes. "It's just...well...you look good...is all..." The last part came out so quietly she wasn't sure he'd even heard her. Was she blushing? Damn.

Before he could reply, though, Hannibal came out of the bathroom and looked at Nicole. "You ready, kid?"

She switched immediately from 'Nicole' to 'Agent Kendall' and nodded quickly. "As I'll ever be," she confirmed.

At that moment Face emerged from his room, and the group exchanged quick glances, then headed out the door to BA and the van.

* * *

Forty-five minutes later they were nearing the hotel, and Nicole's stomach was doing flip-flops. She was seated in the back of the van near the door, and had been fiddling anxiously with her ring for the past five minutes. In a little less than fifteen minutes she would be face to face with Campbell again.

Suddenly she felt a pair of eyes on her, so she looked to her left where Murdock was sitting. He was looking at her with an expression that nearly perfectly imitated the one she had worn when he came out in his uniform.

"I know I'm going to regret asking, but why are you looking at me like that?" she snickered.

He smirked and replied, "just wondering what _you'd_ look like in a uniform."

Despite her best efforts to hold it back, she wound up sputtering with laughter, and reached over to smack him lightly on the shoulder

"Ow," he muttered, recoiling slightly as he reached a hand up to rub his shoulder.

"Whiner," she chuckled quietly, feeling some of her tension dissipate. _That's one way to take my mind off things_, she thought.

Still rubbing his arm, he frowned and mumbled childishly, "I am not."

"Are too," she shot back, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

He grinned back at her and muttered, "am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too."

BA had apparently had enough. He glared at the pair in his rearview mirror and growled loudly.

Nicole snickered and bit her lip to keep from laughing, but her effort was ruined when Murdock quietly whispered, "am not."

Once again the laughter sputtered out, but this time it disguised an, "are too." Privately she wondered why she was acting so childish; but it took her mind off of what was about to happen, so she decided the 'why' didn't matter.

From the front of the van BA looked back at them again and grumbled irritably. As Nicole caught his eye she raised her hands, her face the picture of innocence.

"Just what we need--another crazy fool," BA muttered, shaking his head.

As she leaned back in her seat, snickering, she winked at Murdock, and shook her head. In the rear view mirror she caught the reflection of her father staring back at them with an unreadable expression, and she wondered just how he felt about the way she and Murdock had flirted. Then again, did he even have the right to care when he'd been missing for the first thiry-odd years of her life?

Her train of thought was disrupted as the hotel became visible through the windshield, causing an almost involuntary twinge of fear.

BA pulled the van to a stop right out front of the hotel, and Nicole took a deep, calming breath as he turned off the engine.

"You sure you're gonna be okay, kid?" Hannibal asked, glancing back at her over his shoulder.

"No," she replied shakily. "But let's just do this and get it over with." Without waiting for a reply, she slid open the door and strode confidently to the doors. Or rather, she looked confident. What she actually felt was another story altogether.

She stormed through the doors without making sure the guys were behind her - she iknew/i they would be - and headed quickly and purposely to the front desk, where the man who had called Campbell on herself and Face the previous day was standing. He saw her coming and started to head at a quick pace to the office, which presumably had a lock on it.

But Nicole was faster. She jogged the rest of the way to the desk, and hopped on and over it, then caught him by the back of his collar and shoved him roughly up against a wall.

Behind her she heard Face explaining to some patrons that it was nothing to worry about, and that they should just continue on with their business.

"I told you I'd be back for you," she muttered dangerously. She grinned viciously and pulled him away from the wall, then shoved him in the direction of the phone.

"You're not in the army," he said quietly, noticing the four men in uniform, particularly Face, for the first time as they casually leaned against the front desk.

Face smiled patiently at the man. "No, not technically, but, uh, none of your patrons know that, now do they?"

"Call Campbell, tell him we're coming up," Nicole ordered sternly. "Now."

The man hesitated, glancing over the four men once more.

She cast a glance at her father and arched an eyebrow.

Hannibal smiled maliciously at the concierge. "Don't worry," he assured the man. "Your boss is expecting us. Now call him."

When he hesitated again BA growled at him, and the man instantly picked up the phone, dialing the penthouse suite.

The moment his back was turned Nicole let out a quiet breath and half-turned to face her father, a silent understanding passing between them. She briefly caught Murdock's eye as she turned back to the concierge, who was just hanging up the phone.

"You can go up," he told them quietly.

"You think?" Nicole muttered sarcastically as she pushed him around the front desk and toward the elevator. "Come on."

"But I..." he began, obviously trying to think up an excuse to be left alone. "I have a family."

Murdock grinned wryly at the man and grabbed him from Nicole, shoving him into the elevator. "Bull." He and Face stood on either side of the concierge, watching him, as BA, the last one into the elevator, pushed the button for the top floor.

Manoeuvring around the guys, Nicole stood right in front of the doors. She wanted to be the first to go in. It was her right to confront Campbell first after all he had done to her. She just hoped she could do it.

As the elevator came to a stop, she took a deep breath and cast a quick glance in her father's direction before returning her attention to the doors.

The elevator opened and it became immediately apparent that the two men they were expecting to be on either side of the doors were not there. Looking around the suite, they, in fact, saw that it was completely empty.

"The office," Hannibal stated calmly as he slowly started toward the double doors, Nicole directly behind him.

"I don't like this," Murdock mumbled, speeding up a little to walk beside her.

She swallowed her nervousness yet again, and retorted, "I admit the decoration's a little off, but with a little paint..."

The Colonel came to a stop right in front of the doors and turned to look at the others, his hand on one of the door knobs. Wordlessly, Nicole stepped forward and put a hand on the other knob, nodding silently at him as she did so.

He returned the nod, and raised his other hand to count down from three. When he reached 'one,' both he and Nicole pushed the doors open and walked in with Murdock and Face behind them, their guns ready.


	9. I Love It When A Plan Comes Together

Ack! Finally an update! lol

Reviews:

**european coffee addict**, thanks That's so nice of you (hugs)

More fixing. Removed some original plot ideas cause...well, cause they sucked, lol. All rewritten and, hopefully, better :) After this is all new stuff, though, I suppose, this is new to a degree too :) We're getting pretty close to the end here, folks!

Sorry this update is so short, but the next one should be longer...and more fun to write...in an evil sort of way, lol.

Anyway, R&R, constructive criticism only, blah, blah, blah...lol

* * *

Inside the office they found Campbell leaning casually on his desk, with Gladwin on his right. Four large guards waited around the room.

Nicole stopped between Hannibal and Murdock, and waited for Campbell to make the first move. Behind her she heard BA shove the concierge into the room, then slam the doors shut.

"I was expecting you earlier than this," Campbell said with a smirk.

"But you gotta admit," Hannibal began, "there's a certain appeal to a showdown at high noon."

As Campbell got off of his desk and started walking closer, Nicole began to tense up. He regarded Hannibal with an arrogant smile, then his gaze travelled to her, causing her to stand a little straighter.

His eyes then drifted to Nicole's other side where Murdock was standing. "You're not part of the A-team, Captain," he looked at the name tag on his uniform and read, "Murdock."

"He's a friend," Nicole muttered, drawing Campbell's attention. "Did I mention he's certifiably insane?"

On cue, Murdock looked down at Campbell and gave him a toothy, slightly crazed grin. It was difficult not to laugh as the other man shrank back a little.

"You meet the nicest people in rubber rooms," she continued with a smirk.

Getting his confidence back, Campbell took a step toward her, and allowed his gaze to trail slowly up and down her body. "Rubber rooms? I must have had quite an effect on you..."

Nicole wanted to be angry, she really did, but the remark had hit home and she started to panic. Suddenly she wasn't so sure she could handle being there.

Somehow she managed to get a hold of herself just in time to see Campbell fall to the ground, rubbing his jaw. She didn't know whether her father or Murdock had thrown the punch and she didn't care. All that mattered to her was that it provoked the guards to attack. And in a flash she was 'Agent Kendall' once again.

Jumping over Campbell's prone form, she charged across the room toward Gladwin, and stopped a few feet away from him. For a few long moments the two were locked in a staring contest, each waiting for the other to make the first move.

"Maybe when he's finished with you, Ben will let me have a go," he taunted her with an arrogant smirk. "From what I hear, you're quite--."

"Shut up, Jack," she growled. She started towards him feigning a punch with her right. But as he moved to block her fist, she recoiled and kicked out with her left leg, sending him to the floor.

He glared up at her for a second before springing back to his feet, and lashing out with a powerful right hook. Nicole ducked away and grabbed his arm. She flipped him over her shoulder and grinned when he landed with a loud ithud/i.

Before she could react, he kicked out and sent her flying backward into the desk. She grimaced in pain as her back came into contact with the sharp edge of the desk, but managed to recover just in time to avoid Gladwin's fist hitting her jaw. Jerking her head to the side, she pushed away from the desk and assumed a ready stance.

This time Gladwin attacked first. But Nicole easily managed to block his punch, and knocked him back with an uppercut.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Murdock take a hit and stagger to the ground.

It was all the distraction Gladwin needed. He cleared his head and started forward, catching Nicole across the face with his right fist.

She fell backwards with a pained grunt. Ignoring the pain in her cheek, she kicked out with her left leg, and knocked her opponent off his feet. Before he recovered, she got to her feet and stood over him.

"When you get to prison, try not to drop the soap...on second thought, go right ahead," she snarled, leaning over him. Then she struck out with her fist swiftly, knocking him unconscious.

A small smile graced her features as she turned around and saw her father do the same thing to Campbell. The smile faded as she approached the unconscious Campbell and stared down at him. Without warning she reeled back and hoofed him in the side.

"I love it when everything just falls into place," she muttered with a hint of bitterness.

Hannibal, standing slightly behind her, put an arm around her shoulder, and corrected, "I love it when a plan comes together."

Nicole slowly smiled up at him, a look of relief spreading across her features. Then she leaned her head on his shoulder and returned the one-armed hug. "Thanks," she said quietly.

Before anyone else spoke they all heard the quiet iding/i of the elevator arriving at the suite. Everyone exchanged confused looks, while Nicole ran to look out the window. 


End file.
